PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Minor shakeups in preseason poll

With league play two weeks away, tournament action proved the
preseason boys high school basketball rankings to be fairly
accurate.

The No. 1 team in the county in the preseason -- by far -- was
Lincoln, and the Hornets' play in the Holiday Classic at Torrey
Pines left no doubt about the top team in San Diego.

Lincoln is one of the best and quickest teams in San Diego in
the last decade. Lincoln's only loss was 66-65 to Long Beach Poly,
the No. 2-ranked team in the nation by USA Today.

El Camino, which is down to seven healthy -- but very good --
players, is off to a 14-1 start. The Wildcats' only loss was 59-58
to Clovis North.

Hoover, which was the No. 2 team in the preseason, is 10-5. The
Cardinals are 6-0 against San Diego teams, but lost two games to
Florida teams, to Long Beach Poly by 13 points, and to Clovis
Buchanan and Gardena Serra.

La Costa Canyon (12-2) maintained its No. 4 preseason position
after a 56-53 loss to El Camino in the championship game of the
American Division at the Holiday Classic.

Torrey Pines, which started 8-0, stumbled a bit over the
holidays and is now 10-3, falling from No. 3 to No. 5.

The surprise team of the tournament season has been Rancho Buena
Vista. Led by high-scoring Johnny Dee, Anthony Alston and 7-footer
Joey Vaz, the Longhorns -- who weren't ranked in the preseason --
are now 10-2 and ranked No. 6 in the county. Both losses were to
Torrey Pines, 75-67 and 57-55.

Army-Navy (10-2), a talented team that is loaded with
underclassmen, lost by one point to Kiwanis Tournament champion
Aliso Niguel and also to Mundelein of Illinois. The Warriors, who
were No. 6 in the preseason, slipped to No. 8 because of a weak
schedule, something coach Tom Tarantino plans to remedy for next
season.

Cathedral Catholic (9-4) stayed at No. 9. The Dons lost to RBV
(66-56) and St. Augustine (64-52) along with two out-of-area
teams.

Hilltop (9-3), unranked in the preseason, jumped in at No. 10.
The Lancers have only one loss to a San Diego County team, 56-43 to
RBV.